Chapter 44 Colton

CHAPTER 44

Colton

I'M WEARING MY best flannel shirt and newest jeans, the ones Mom brought for me when she met me at Fort Bellows. They might not have rhinestones or creases like Jake's, but they aren't patched up or stained. After hitching up the team and driving across the dusty trail, they aren't as clean as they were when I left this morning. I look presentable enough, I hope. I tug on the stiff collar, anxious now that it seems like everyone's eyes are on me. I didn't expect my return to the wagon train to garner so much attention. But then again, I did just walk out into the middle of the makeshift dirt dance floor.

Riley's hand goes to where I tapped her on the shoulder and she steps away from Jake. He nods in greeting and steps away. As she turns to face me, I pull off my hat and drag a hand through my hair.

"Colton?" A brilliant smile lights up her face and she drifts closer until the tips of her canvas sneakers brush the square toes of my cowboy boots. "You're actually here."

"I am."

Flickering light from the torches along the dance floor perimeter casts a soft glow over us. I can just barely make out the dusting of freckles across her nose. For a moment, we just stare at each other as the last few lines of "Oh Shenandoah" die away.

"I missed you," Riley says, reaching out to twine her fingers with mine.

"I missed you, too," I say.

Felix, Wanda, and Ty start playing a lilting cowboy waltz. I pull her closer and lift our linked hands to my chest. We sway to the music as other couples spin around us.

"Are you okay?" I ask. I'm still pretty sore from yesterday, so I imagine Riley's feeling it, too.

"Better now that you're here." She blinks up at me with glistening eyes. "Is Chance okay? I've been so worried about him since Jake told me about his injury," Riley says.

I nod and rub the back of her hands with my thumbs. "He's going to be fine. He just needs a few days' rest and then he'll be back on the trail in no time."

"I'm glad it's nothing serious. When you weren't with the wagon train yesterday, I thought maybe something bad happened." She shifts closer and rests her head on my shoulder.

"I'm sorry I missed seeing you off." I breathe in the scent of fresh air and sunshine that clings to her hair. "I worried I might not see you again before you left Nebraska."

Riley peers up at me from under her dark eyelashes. "There's something I need to tell you. I should have told you before but…" She takes a deep breath and my heart stops.

This was just a fling.

There's someone back home.

"I'm not heading back to California," she says.

"You're not?" Something dangerously close to hope and exhilaration mingle in my chest.

"Nope."

"For like, a few more days? Or a week?"

"I'm not sure when I'll be there again," she says with a shrug. "But when I go back, it'll only be for a visit. My family's moving to Nebraska. That's why we're here."

"So, you're staying here?"

"Well, not here, here," she says wryly, glancing around at the dirt dance floor. "My parents bought a house in Clearview."

"Whoa, hold up." It takes me a moment to process everything. "You're moving to Nebraska?"

"Yeah."

My feet shuffle forward, closing the distance between us again. "Clearview, Nebraska ?" I say.

She nods.

Clearview is only twenty-five miles or so from Darby, which is a whole helluva lot closer than California. Maybe hoping for something more with Riley isn't so unrealistic after all.

"I should have told you before, but at first, I was still in denial. And then things were so uncertain between us, I wasn't sure it mattered. Then when I realized there was something between us, every time I tried to tell you—"

"I'm really glad you told me now," I say, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

"You aren't upset?"

"How could I be upset that you're staying in Nebraska?"

Riley slides her hands up to my shoulders and twines her hands behind the nape of my neck. "I'm really glad you're here." She glances around. "Wait. How did you get here?"

"The pioneer way," I reply with a grin. "I took mules."

"You're a pretty good dancer after all," Riley says as we finish our second dance. "Jake had me worried I'd lose a toe or two."

"I'm not that bad," I say. "I just needed the right partner."

Riley grins up at me. "We do make a great pair."

We do, which is why I need to square things away with my father sooner rather than later. I take a deep breath and drop my hands from her waist. "Save me the next dance?" I ask. "There's something I need to take care of."

"Hurry back, cowboy," she teases.

As if I needed the extra motivation.

Dad's at the supply wagon when I find him. "Colton," he says. "Glad you made it." He hands me two bottles of lemonade before securing the latch.

"Thanks for leaving Sal and Buck for me."

"How was the ride?"

"A little bumpy. That old buckboard wagon isn't as smooth as our prairie schooners."

Dad grunts as he cracks open a bottle of lemonade. "I figured you'd rather join us on the trail than have a cushy ride home in the truck, considering the little lady who's caught youreye."

"Riley." My chest grows tight. I don't need his permission to date her once we get back to Darby, but out here on the trail, it's more complicated. Not only does our relationship go against corporate policy, but also as the wagon train leader's son, I have to live to a higher standard. If I flout the rules, it could undermine his position with the rest of the crew.

"I like her. She's got gumption. I think she's good for you. It's a good thing she'll be living close by."

"You already knew?" I ask. "I only just found out a few minutes ago."

He takes a long pull from the bottle and squints over at me. "I'm the wagon train leader. It's my job to know." There's just enough light from the campfire to see the weathered wrinkles at the corners of his eyes. "And you should know that relationships between staff and passengers are against company policy. Thing is," Dad continues, his eyes fixed on the prairie, "I saw you two dancing back there. Definitely not something you want to see between staff and passengers."

"Dad," I start to say, but he holds up a hand to stop me.

"You two have been through some pretty extenuating circumstances, I get that. And no one here is faulting you for your feelings. But you can't go breaking the rules just because they're inconvenient." He turns to look at me with a stern expression. "So you just can't be part of my crew."

"Whoa." I take a step back and let out an uneasy breath. "Are you firing me?"

"Hell, no," Dad says. "It might be against corporate policy for staff to date passengers, but there're no rules about passengers dating passengers. As far as I'm concerned, you've more than earned yourself some time off."

"Like a vacation?" Living on a farm, there's no such thing as a day off, let alone a vacation.

"Sure. For a few days," Dad says, clinking his lemonade bottle against mine. "Oh, and another thing."

"What's that?" I ask.

"There's no policy that says a passenger has to stay with the wagon train. You've got yourself a team and a wagon. Might be a good time to find your own trail home."

Riley's dancing with Jake again when I get back, but they're about as awkward as a couple at a middle-school dance. Clearly Jake's trying to show me that he's not trying to put moves on her, but he's overcompensating. You could drive a prairie schooner through the space between them.

She catches my eye and waves. "Welcome back."

Jake offers me a fist bump before wandering away.

"Is everything okay?" Riley asks.

I pull her close and let my chin rest on the top of her head. "Better than okay."

It feels so good to hold her in my arms, our feet shuffling in slow circles to the music. Barnaby teaches everyone steps to an Irish reel. Riley giggles as I spin her, the firelight setting her hair aglow. We join in on a square dance called by Mr. Stone and fumble our way through a country two-step. Pretty soon, Riley and I are the only ones left on the dance floor.

"Time for us to call it a night," Felix says.

"We should probably turn in, too," Riley says. "The wagons roll out early here."

"About that," I say.